What if Scarecrow
by Katy M VT
Summary: What if Sam went to California with Meg? Spoilers through Season 4. Chapter 6 of 6 up
1. California Here I Come

Scarecrow-What if Sam hadn't called Dean and realized that he was in trouble?

Meg called over to Sam, "Our bus is in."

"Great," Sam replied, "Let's go."

"I got you a bottled water for the trip," Meg offered.

"Thanks," Sam said taking it as they headed off to the bus.

"So what's the plan?" Emily asked Dean as they were both tied to trees in the orchard.

"I'm working on it," Dean replied.

"You've been working on it for a couple of hours. You don't have a plan do you?" Emily asked.

"No, sorry," Dean admitted.

"That's alright, it's not your fault."

"Can you see?" Dean asked.

"What?"

"The scarecrow."

"He's not there anymore," Emily said fearfully.

Dean started struggling at his bonds, and the next thing they knew they were hearing blood-curdling screams.

"What's going on?" Emily yelled.

"I don't know. Looks like maybe Scarecrow found another couple to snack on."

The screaming stopped just as suddenly as it had started, and that was actually more troublesome.


	2. Shaping an Identity

The bus was half empty. There was nobody on the seats in front of across, or behind Sam and Meg. "Perfect," Meg thought.

"Why don't you drink some water, Sam, you're looking kind of pale," Meg suggested.

"Really?" Sam asked, he felt fine, but if it would make his new friend Meg feel better, he would have some water.

Meg smiled as Sam began to drink the water. As a demon, she had access to some pretty heavy duty potions. This one allowed her to completely replace Sam's memories.

"Sam, you're name is Jared Masters, I'm Meg and we got married last week," she began. She had 2 hours to fill his head. Then he would fall asleep and when he woke up, he would only have the memories she had given him. She continued to whisper to him until he fell asleep.

Morning in the orchard found Dean and Emily dozing next to the apple trees they were tied to. Dean woke up when he heard a noise. "Emily," he whispered urgently.

"What?" She came instantly awake.

"I hear something," Dean whispered back.

Jus t then the sheriff rounded the corner. "Well, howdy sheriff," Dean greeted him sarcastically.

"The scarecrow killed Stacy and Harley last night," the sheriff said somberly.

"That wasn't exactly the plan, was it?" Dean asked.

"No, it wasn't."

"That's the problem with pagan gods, you can't control them or ever truly appease them," Dean lectured.

"I realize that now. I'm letting you go. Scotty wanted to kill you so you couldn't go for help, but I realize now that what we've been doing is wrong."

"You just now realize that. You've been killing innocent people," Dean yelled.

"I thought it was for the greater good," the sheriff explained lamely.

"Whatever," Dean said.

The sheriff finished untying them in silence and Dean and Emily went off to burn the sacred tree. When they had done that Dean took Emily to the bus station and put her on a bus to Boston. Then, he took out his phone and called Sam. He got his voice mail and hung up without leaving a message. Then, just for the fun of it, since he definitely never answered, Dean called his dad. He was shocked when his father answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Dad, you're answering your phone?" Dean said. He hadn't been expecting an answer so he was thrown a little off guard.

"I was actually expecting a call from someone else," John answered. "I told you to stop calling me and stop trying to find me."

"Yeah, about that," Dean said, "Sam decided to go to Sacramento to try to find you."

"How did he know I was in Sacramento?" John asked.

"The phone number from the pay phone you called us from," Dean explained.

John groaned, he hadn't even thought of that.

"Where is he now, exactly?" John asked.

"He hopped the 5:00 bus from Hicksville, Indiana yesterday," Dean answered.

"OK, I'm going to find out when that gets here and meet him at the bus station. I'm going to keep him with me until you get here to pick him up. You have no idea how dangerous this is," John warned.

"I'm on my way." Dean promised, hanging up.


	3. Mistaken Identity

Two days later John was at the bus station waiting for Sam. When his bus came in, John nervously got up and went to wait for the passengers. He saw Sam exiting the bus next to a girl about his age with short blond hair. "Sam," John yelled.

Sam didn't even look over. "Sam!" he tried again. Nothing.

He walked over and grabbed Sam's arm, "Sam!" he said urgently.

Sam turned to him confused, "I'm sorry you must have me mixed up with somebody else. My name is Jared."

"What the hell kind of game are you playing at?" John asked, infuriated.

"Look, mister, I don't know who you are, and I don't know any Sam," Sam insisted, as he yanked his arm away. "Come on, Meg," he said and gently pulled Meg along with him.

When John got back to his hotel he called Dean. "Where are you?" he asked.

"Just outside of Sacramento," Dean answered.

"Alright, come to my hotel as soon as you hit town. We have a major problem." John told Dean where he was staying and hung up.

After about a minute, he picked up his phone again and called Bobby Singer. "Bobby, something weird is going on and I was wondering if you had any idea what could cause it."

"John, are you forgetting the last time I saw you I told you to get off my property before I shot you?" Bobby asked.

"No, I remember quite clearly, but this is about Sam, and I know how much you love the boys."

"Well, you're right about that. What's up?" Bobby asked.

John filled Bobby in on the scene at the bus station.

"That's weird alright. I'll have to do some research and get back to you," Bobby responded.

Dean showed up at the hotel shortly after that. "What's going on, dad? Where's Sam?"

John told him what happened.

"That doesn't make any sense, he came here expressly to look for you, why would he pretend not to know you?" Dean wondered.

"I don't know. Who was the girl he was with?"

"I have no idea. When he left me, he was alone," Dean answered.

"She must have something to do with this, don't you think," John mused aloud.

"Do you know where they went from the bus station?" Dean asked.

"No, I was going to follow them, but I lost them in the crowd."

"Great."


	4. Experiments

Meg and Sam got out of the taxi in front of a mansion. "I can't believe this is where your father moved to," Sam enthused. "The place is huge."

"I know, winning the lottery does do wonders for home improvement," Meg joked. So does possessing a millionaire, she thought to herself.

"Hey kids, I've been expecting you," Azazel said, when he answered the door.

"Hi, Daddy," Meg said.

"Hello, sir," Sam said, formally.

"Jared, I know you recently lost your job, so I have a proposition for you," Azazel began. "As you know, I'm a psychiatrist specializing in psychics. I would like to use you as a test subject."

"What would you be testing me for?" Sam asked.

Meg smiled to herself. This was going perfectly. She had told Sam that he was a psychic and had picked the winning powerball numbers for her father with his abilities. She had also told him that he could move objects with his mind, and read minds. She knew that when you had demon blood, as long as you thought you could do something, that would be enough to generate the power.

"If I tell you exactly what I'm testing for, it would compromise the study," Azazel was explaining to Sam, "but I can tell you that you are the ideal subject."

"What would I have to do?" Sam asked.

"Well, I'm working on a formula to enhance psychic abilities. You would just need to drink this red, sticky liquid, once a day. I have to warn you it doesn't taste very good, but all in the name of science, right?"

"Well, if it would help you out, I'd be glad to. When do we start?" Sam asked.

"No time like the present," Azazel said. He led them inside and gave Sam a glass of the red, sticky liquid, he was talking about.

"Looks like blood," Sam said, scrunching up his nose and taking a sip. "Tastes kind of like blood, but different. There's no blood in this is there?" he asked.

"No, of course not, son."

"OK, just wondering," Sam said, and finished the drink.

Meg had told him that he trusted her father implicitly.

"Why don't you go up and take a nap?" Meg suggested.

"OK, I am tired, all of the sudden," Sam said.

When Sam had left the room, Azazel nearly danced with glee. "I can't believe we are actually pulling this off. With Sam drinking demon blood for the next year, he'll be a shoe-in to win the final death match against the other psychic kids."

"I know. The only thing I'm worried about was we ran into John Winchester at the bus station," Meg said.

"What happened?" Azazel asked, beginning to worry.

"He confronted us, and Sam insisted that he had the wrong guy. He didn't mention it in the cab, but John knows we're in town."

"Maybe we should relocate," Azazel thought.

"That might make Sam suspicious," Meg countered.

"You told him that he trusts both of us, right?" Azazel asked.

"Yes, of course, but the potion only wipes the memory, not basic character traits. Sam is basically a suspicious person and a questioner of authority. We can't push too hard," Meg said.

"You're right, but we'll probably be fine. It's a big city and John would probably never think to look for Sam in the high-end district."

"That's true enough," Meg agreed.

Bobby called John and Dean the next day. "I found out that there is a demon potion that can wipe away a person's memories and then the demon can totally replace them with fake ones. It's permanent, the only way to stop it is to exorcise the demon."

"Great, all we have to do is find the demon, exorcise it and get Sam back. No problem," John said sarcastically.

"Let's take it one step at a time," Dean suggested. "Where should we start looking?"

"Well," Bobby said, "the potion replaces the memories, but not basic character traits. Where do you think Sam would go?"

"Probably the suburbs. He always wanted a normal life," Dean hypothesized.

"Alright, I'm going to head down there. Get started and I'll call you when I get to town," Bobby offered.

"OK," John agreed.

John and Dean went around town showing Sam's picture. "Have you seen this guy?" they asked a young couple.

"Actually, I have. I saw him getting out of a cab yesterday across the street from where we live."

"Where's that?" John asked.

They gave him the address. "Is there anything strange about the people that live there?" Dean asked.

"It's just one man that lives there, and now that you mention it, there is something strange."

"What's that?"

"He used to be really friendly, but the last couple of weeks, he hardly ever leaves his house and if he does run into us, he doesn't say a word, just sort of glares."

John and Dean shared a look. "Thanks," Dean said.

John pulled out his cell phone when the couple had left. "Bobby, where are you?" he asked, when the gruff hunter had answered the phone.

"Just outside of town," came the reply.

"Meet us at the corner of Wahsington and Lincoln. Sam was spotted going into a house on that street. Keep out of sight, though," John instructed.

"Right," Bobby replied.

When they all got to the corner, they started making plans. "I think we should scout the outside of the house," Dean said. "It's been dark for a half hour, so it should be safe."

"OK, let's go."

When they got to the outside of the house, the door opened and they ducked behind the hedges. They heard Sam's voice, "I'm going to get some air."

They heard a murmured response from inside. When Sam was fully outside with the door closed, John made a quick decision. He pulled out his gun and jumped from the bushes. He pointed the gun at Sam and said, "Don't make a sound, you're coming with us."


	5. Splish Splash

Sam's eyes grew wide with fear, and he looked back at the house.

"Don't even think about it. I'll kill everyone inside," John threatened. He hated doing this to Sam, but he had to get him out of the way.

"Look, I told you, I'm not who you think you are."

"Just come on," Dean said, grabbing his arm. The last thing they needed was for a demon to come outside while they were trying to get Sam away.

Sam sighed and put his hands up and preceded them to the car. "Get in the back," John ordered.

John and Bobby got in the front and Dean slid into the back seat with Sam. "Do we have any handcuffs, Dad?" he asked.

"Yeah," John answered, "Bobby, can you grab them out of the glove compartment?"

Bobby handed them back to Dean. "Lean forward and put your hands behind your back," Dean said while Bobby covered him. Sam did as he was told. He felt completely helpless. At least they didn't hurt Meg and her dad, he thought gratefully.

"Why are you doing this?" Sam asked. "I'm not who you think I am."

"Yes you are," John answered.

"We won't hurt you," Dean began.

"Hush, Dean," John admonished.

Dean realized his dad was right. He wanted to reassure Sam, but they had to make him think they would hurt him if he didn't cooperate.

When they got back to the hotel, Bobby made sure the coast was clear, while Dean and John brought Sam in. Dean unlocked the cuffs so he could secure him to the bed. Sam took the opportunity to try to escape. He pushed Dean and headed to the door and opened his mouth to yell. But before he could get a sound out, he felt a hand clamping over his mouth and hands dragging him back. Before he knew what had happened he was chained to the bed.

"I know you don't want to, son, but you're going to have to gag him," John said. The idea was distasteful to him, so he imagined Dean would feel the same way.

"But, Dad," Dean protested.

"We can't have people showing up to rescue him now, can we?"

"No, sir," Dean knew he was right. He took the torn sheet his father handed him and stuffed it in Sam's mouth, tying it tightly behind his head. "Sorry, Sammy," he said.

The three of them went to a corner to whisper their plans. "One of us will stay here with Sam, and the other two will go back to that house and hope they haven't noticed Sam missing. We'll bless the water in the swimming pool, and hope we can knock them in there."

"I'll stay with Sam. I'm not as young as I used to be," Bobby said.

Dean was going to protest that he wanted to stay, but realized that this really was for the best. "OK, let's hurry."

Dean and John sped back to the house. They crept into the back yard again and John proceeded to bless the swimming pool.

"Jared?" a pretty blonde came out moments later. John stood on the other side of the pool to lure her over. "Dad, we have company," she yelled. Azazel joined her. "John Winchester, what a pleasant surprise."

"Have we met?" John asked, stalling.

"Well, I killed your wife."

John froze, he hadn't been expecting that. He wanted to kill this son of a bitch, not exorcise him. But he didn't have a way to kill him, and saving Sam was more important than revenge.

Meg and Azazel walked forward to the edge of the pool. Dean jumped out behind the bushes and gave Meg a shove. She lost her balance and went teetering into the pool. She grabbed at her father to steady herself and ended up dragging him with her. Their flesh began to burn immediately and they screamed in pain. John began the exorcism chant and was done within moments. Black smoke came out of both of them. Dean jumped in the water to pull out the two victims.

"They're breathing," he said.

"Good. We better get going. Somebody must have heard all that screaming."

They ran to the car, and reached it just in time to hear sirens in the distance. They took off as casually as they could and headed back to Sam, hoping that it worked.


	6. Remembrance

Sam made a muffled sound under the gag. Bobby hated doing this to the boy he considered his own son, but he said, "I'll take off the gag, but if you yell, I'll put a bullet in your brain."

Sam nodded. "Can I have some water?" he asked when the gag had been removed.

Bobby reached over to the minibar and pulled out a bottle of water. He opened it and held it up to Sam's lips. Sam drank greedily. When he was done, he asked, "Why are you doing this?"

"I can't tell you that, but nobody is going to hurt you," Bobby answered.

"Yeah, right," Sam answered. Suddenly he passed out.

"Sam, Sam, are you OK?" Bobby asked. Was he faking? What was going on?

A few minutes later, Sam woke up. "Bobby?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"How did I get here, why am I chained to the bed?"

"Long story, kid," Bobby said. He reached for the keys that Dean had left and let Sam free. Moments later, Dean and John walked in.

"Sammy?" Dean said.

"Yeah, what's going on?"

"What do you remember?" John asked.

"The last thing I remember was getting on a bus with this girl I met at the bus station," Sam responded.

"That girl was a demon and she stole your memories and replaced them with fake ones."

"Why?" Sam asked.

"I wish I knew," John answered. "You don't remember anything after the bus?"

"Not until I woke up here handcuffed to the bed."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Dean said, "but we had to. We didn't want you interfering with the exorcism."

"How are you feeling?" Bobby asked. Who knew what side effects that potion could have, or if they had done anything to him physically.

"It's weird, I actually feel…stronger, I guess," Sam said, hesitantly.

"Stronger, how?" Bobby asked.

"I'm not sure really. It's just a feeling."

"Maybe we should go back to my place and so some research and figure this out. We might not want to stick around here too long." They packed up and left.

The next day, they arrived at Bobby's place. Sam had slept most of the way there. "How are you feeling today?" Bobby asked.

"Like I need coffee or something," Sam said.

"I don't think you need coffee. Your hands are already shaking," Dean noticed.

Sam looked down, "That's weird. I'm kind of tired."

"Why don't you go get some sleep," John suggested.

Sam went up to sleep, while the others researched.

"I have to go tow a car," Bobby announced, after he had answered a phone call. "I'll be back in 3 hours."

"We might as well quit researching. We haven't found anything, the demons are back in hell, and Sam is safe and sound," Dean said.

"Yeah, we're just wasting our time," John agreed. "Let's go for a walk and stretch our legs, we've been sitting for 6 hours, he said after looking at his watch."

They walked down the street for about a half hour, when they came to a diner. They decided to get something to eat.

They got back home about the same time as Bobby. They all went in the house. "Sam," Dean called.

There was no answer. They ran upstairs. Sam was sleeping like the dead. Dean shook him. "Sam."

"What?" Sam asked groggily.

"Dude, you've been sleeping for 9 hours and you were sleeping for like 15 hours before that. Are you alright?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, actually I feel the best I've felt since I woke up in that hotel room," Sam answered.

Meanwhile in Hell.

"How long until that blood is out of his system?" Meg asked.

"Probably 2 to 4 days, he only got 2 doses. Even if he were inclined to keep going, he won't remember that he was drinking it."

"Well, we've been here for 3 months, so he should be just about clean now then," Meg realized. She hated the Hell time difference.

"Doesn't matter. We just have to focus on getting back topside to complete the plan.

The End or is it


End file.
